


First Impressions

by taichara



Category: Gundam 00P
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:32:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4325040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taichara/pseuds/taichara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new Meister can bring new complications -- or you can just seize the opportunity and roll with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kalloway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/gifts).



> I admit there's some gentle stretching and tweaking of the timeline of events here. I hope it works out X3

The air split with the sound of shrieking metal.

As the training frame shuddered to a halt, steam and stray particles mixing in a kind of shimmering grey soup, Hixar planted his fingers in his ears and winced. Up on the observation deck, he was safe enough from the mess -- soon to be vented into empty space -- but not from the sneaking suspicion that his plans for the remainder of the day were about to come to an equally shrieking halt. 

Stealthily he eyed his partner sidewise through one hairtail under cover of lowering his hands. Grave could have been a statue, unreadable and unmovable; it was hard to read him with those ever-present and annoyingly dark glasses, but his attention was obviously riveted to the training frame and the tension in his spine was the opposite of encouraging.

_Maybe this won't be such a good idea after all?_

A flicker of doubt -- like overexcited butterflies -- bounced around somewhere in the rough vicinity of Hixar's middle. Just a flicker, mind you. He'd finangled for the better part of a standard week to get the chance to go Earthside outside of mission parameters and then another two days just to get Grave to agree, and he really was _not_ about to give that up without some kind of a fight, at least.

"Is something on your mind?"

Grave's attention seemingly hadn't wavered, but the quiet comment could hardly be for anyone else. Concerned, not professional; Hixar's entire body relaxed so quickly he nearly fell off his perch on the rail.

"I was kind of worried that we'd have to put off today's plans. You don't look exactly what I'd call happy yourself right now, you know?"

A tiny shake of his head, just barely enough to ripple his hair, was Grave's only response. One hand waggled slightly in a just-one-moment sort of motion, and Hixar immediately spotted what had caught the investigator's eye -- the frame's pilot was climbing out of the cockpit and heading for the observation deck. Hixar perked up immediately; this could be interesting ... and maybe they'd have company. 

It couldn't hurt to try. If this was one of Grave's prospects, he wanted to know more about them, and even if it weren't, he still wanted to know more about them. Besides, what harm could there be in being a little friendly ~?

-*-

_I didn't know there would be two of them!_

He had been hoping that the frame test -- graceless as it was, at the end -- wouldn't be a complete and total failure. Had almost convinced himself of that, in fact. Then he'd finally looked up at the deck and spotted not only Violento's black and grey through the glass panes but some stranger in pale colours, with hair to match. More worryingly, the Meister had not so much as flinched in acknowledgement, and Tieria's heart plummeted. 

_That can't be a good sign._

Still, there was nothing for it but to move forward, figuratively and literally. He pulled off his suit helmet and shook his hair loose, then drew a deep breath. 

_Enough of this foolishness, Erde._

Move forward, head high, shoulders straight, cross to the switchback of stairs and up to the observation deck to present himself to whatever assessment was about to be made --

"Hiiii!"

\-- or he could be yodeled at as soon as he opened the door to the deck. That was also an option, apparently. 

The stranger in Celestial Being's uniform waved cheerfully at him, practically beaming; a smile that extended to his brilliant blue eyes. Standing next to him, Meister Violento looked solemn, almost distant -- until Tieria caught the tiny sidewise tilt of his head in Hixar's direction and the tinier smile of amusement. Then Grave was closing the distance between them.

"Tieria, how are you feeling? I expected to see you exit a little more quickly."

"Ah ... I reconfirmed the stability of the frame and the venting of the particles before disengaging the cockpit hatch. It seemed the most prudent decision ..."

He looked away quickly, cheeks burning. Grave shook his head.

"I wouldn't argue with that, no. It was a well-reasoned choice. I was not expecting the training frame to stutter the way it did, either, and I've logged the aberration -- I don't believe, Tieria, that the fault was yours. So, now that you've put yourself through the paces --"

"Would you like to come down the gravity well with us once you've cleaned up and maybe snuck in a nap? It shouldn't be a problem clearing you for it, right Grave?"

_What?_

Tieria blinked, taken aback by the invitation out of nowhere and not in the least reassured by the way Grave promptly covered his face with one hand and heaved a sigh. 

_Wait, hold on ..._

_... Is he laughing?_

He was indeed; or, at least, Grave's shoulders were twitching in a way that telegraphed a definite desire to. Certainly he wasn't putting off the pale Meister -- _was_ he a Meister? he dressed the part, at least -- who was just looking from him to Grave and back again with every air of someone who had just won ... something. Even if Tieria couldn't decide just what that might be. And so the long and confusing moment stretched on, and Tieria was just starting to feel the urge to fidget ... 

"Hixar, this is Tieria Erde; he was chosen to be one of Celestial Being's Gundam Meisters. Tieria, this is Hixar Fermi, my often co-pilot."

Hixar grinned cheerfully.

"Me and a herd of haros, you mean. But I _am_ getting better! Did Grave scout you out, Tieria?"

_What an odd question._

"I don't believe so, no ..."

"I'm not the only source of possible teammates, you know."

All business once again -- as if a small fit of amusement hadn't nearly dissolved him into silent laughter -- Grave sidled towards the wall of the deck and turned to face them both, head cocked as if weighing some unseen odds concerning them. Tieria felt nonplussed but, seeing Hixar take it all in stride, chose not to question; then the Meister favoured them both with a small smile.

"Don't let him start to make your decisions for you, Tieria, or you'll never know what madcap antics you'll find yourself involved in. It's up to you; would you like to go down to Earth for a few hours?"

Earth. The planet below. Had he even been there? -- no, apparently. At least, he didn't think so. Well, what could it hurt? Grave, he knew already, would watch for him and hardly concealed his concern with those black glasses; Hixar may be an unknown quantity but his friendly affability was almost infectious. 

It felt comfortable, felt right. And he wanted to _belong_ \--

"I think ... I'd like that. If it's not an imposition."

Ignoring Hixar's 'yesssssss' of victory, Grave squeezed Tieria's shoulder lightly.

"It won't be. Hixar? Explain to Tieria where we'll be headed en route to his quarters while I deliver my reports. He deserves at least a few hours to relax before we drag him off into the gravity well. And, Tieria,"

\-- another squeeze, this one even more careful; and a brief flicker of surprisingly soft grey eyes, a little too pinned (was he in pain?), before Grave adjusted his glasses --

"Don't worry. You'll do fine as a Meister. Just don't let Hixar push the work onto you, alright?"

"Hey!"

-*-

It could have gone better; it could have gone worse. Much, much worse. But as he watched the pair taking their leave of the deck, Hixar chattering animatedly away and, a little more reserved, Tieria gamely responding -- he himself was using 'the need to re-check his notes' as an excuse to lag behind -- Grave was inclined to take the 'better' and be grateful for it.

He still had no records of Tieria Erde save for Veda's notation that he was to be included in the team being ostensibly scouted. No data, and no records; two things which, along with Erde's colouration, pointed in the direction of an Innovade despite Grave's orders to fill out a _human_ team.

_I wish I could set aside my concerns, for his sake, and for theirs._

_I don't want to see him used as a pawn. I don't want to consider why these changes may have been made, what changes might be coming. Something is not making sense here._

Too many variables; perhaps he'd bring his concerns -- those he dared to voice -- to Chall once he'd uplinked his reports to Veda. Or, failing that, perhaps tomorrow.

After Hixar hauled his 'victims' around one of his favorite amusement park-shopping 'plexes. 

Grave heaved a sigh that was mostly suppressed laughter. Well, if Tieria could weather that particular storm, he would be ready for nearly anything that could be thrown at him short of an actively hostile teammate (and Grave firmly squelched down on the thought of an inevitable contending with Test Subject E-57); if he enjoyed it, he'd fit just fine ...

_Even if he is one of Veda's intended pawns, an Innovade who knows human emotion may as well be human._

_All I can do is advise and guide. And tonight I choose not to do either._

_Tonight is for friends, not the system._


End file.
